While he may be coming off a breakout 2024-25 season where he averaged 21.6 points on 48.4 percent shooting from the floor and 36.5 percent shooting from deep, and became the third-youngest player to drop 40 or more points in an NBA Finals game, there's a case to be made that Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams' most vital traits fall on the defensive end.
Over the summer, in fact, The Athletic's Sam Vecenie even went as far as to describe him as "one of the three or four most switchable defenders" the NBA currently has to offer.
Oddly enough, however, it appears the league's GMs don't seem to see the All-Star wing in such a light, as they didn't even mark him down as so much as an honorable mention when discussing who they believe to be the most versatile defender in a recently held survey.
Thunder star omitted from GM survey's 'most versatile defender' topic
J-Dub not being given the title over the likes of Houston's Amen Thompson (received 18 percent of the votes), or even that he didn't place in the top five in the voting results, isn't the issue -- it's that he apparently didn't receive any votes at all.
We're talking about a natural small forward measuring in at 6-foot-5, 211-pounds who, just last season, proved that he can handle the objective of guarding literally every position, including center.
In fact, when he was slotted in as the primary pivot for the Thunder while all three of Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams were dealing with their respective injury woes, opponents were shooting a lowly 44.9 percent from the floor against him.
Along with this, whenever he was found filling in at the five during their championship campaign, Oklahoma City allowed just 112.0 points per 100 possessions and sported an absolutely electric turnover percentage of 19.6, ranking in the 99 percentile.
The cherry on top of all, however, is that his 106.5 defensive rating on the year trumped all of the players who were actually mentioned by the executives surveyed, including his own Thunder teammate Lu Dort (107.3), who tied for the seventh-most votes received with 7.0 percent.
Add all this to the fact that he boasts enviable length (listed as having a 7-foot-2 wingspan) and sturdy overall muscle mass, and it's clear that Williams' metrics align perfectly with his build.
In other words, not only does he look like an all-around defender, but he has the resume that proves he plays like one, and an elite one at that.
Yet, for some reason, participating GMs failed to have him rank in the conversation of most versatile defender, let alone have him listed in the "Also receiving votes" category.